70-year-old woman found murdered in Mogappair

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Elderly woman was alone on the first floor of house; killer also took suitcase containing documents

A 70-year-old woman was brutally murdered and her gold and diamond jewellery stolen at her residence in Mogappair East on Saturday morning.

The police said the killer must have entered the house while the victim’s husband was on the ground floor.

The murder took place between 10 a.m. and 11.15 a.m., when the victim Parimalam, wife of Umapathy (75), a retired chemical engineer with Sterlite Industries, was alone on the first floor of the independent house on Thirukkural Munusamy Street in Panneer Nagar, a thickly-populated residential locality.

“Umapathy was on the ground floor, browsing on a desktop while Parimalam was on the floor above. He came up around 11.15 a.m. after hearing a door banging loudly and found his wife lying in a pool of blood in a bathroom. He immediately informed his daughter Sumathi over the phone,” B. Kalitheerathan, assistant commissioner of police, Thirumangalam, said.

Parimalam was hit on the forehead with a blunt object, resulting in a cut wound, and then strangulated outside the bathroom. A six-sovereign thali chain, gold bangle, diamond nose stud and a pair of diamond earrings worn by the victim were taken by the killer who also stole a locked suitcase containing vehicle documents, the police said.

The elderly couple occupied the ground and first floors of the building and had rented out a portion to Soundarapandian, a grocery shop owner, and his family for the past four years. The couple’s son lives overseas while their two daughters are residing in Bangalore and Chennai.

“I was watching television when I got a call from Umapathy’s daughter Sumathi in Korattur saying that her mother was injured and rushed in to find her dead. I did not hear anything unusual,” said Dhanamjothi, Soundarapandian’s wife.

Investigators suspect that the killer entered through the front door on the ground floor that was open as Umapathy was inside, or through the terrace.

Parimalam’s body was sent to the Government Kilpauk hospital for post-mortem. The Nolambur police have registered a case of murder and special teams are investigating further.